


Devotion, Always

by DarkCellar



Category: Kylo Ren - Fandom, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015), kylux - Fandom
Genre: Babysitting, Boys Kissing, Captain Phasma, Domestic Fluff, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Gay, General Hux - Freeform, Kids, Kylo Ren - Freeform, Kylux - Freeform, M/M, Marriage, Out of Character, Phasma as a mother, Romance, Romantic Fluff, Romantic Kylux, Short Story, Soft Kylux, Star Wars - Freeform, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) - Freeform, The First Order, The Force Awakens, Tooth-Rotting Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-27
Updated: 2017-07-27
Packaged: 2018-12-07 21:04:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,566
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11631882
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DarkCellar/pseuds/DarkCellar
Summary: Kylo Ren and Armitage Hux have been married for about two years, and Kylo couldn't be happier with his husband, and the love they share together.Hux is happy, as well, but he carries in him a well-concealed desire: he wants to start a family with Kylo.Kylo, while not exactly opposed to the idea, is not entirely perceptive to it, either. He promises Hux he will think over the idea of children, but inside, his mind is swimming in a torrent of doubt over his ability to be a decent father.Can a short, unexpected babysitting venture help turn the tide in Hux's favor? Or Kylo's?





	Devotion, Always

Hux turned the page of the book he was reading, and glanced up. Across from him lay his husband, Kylo. Kylo had been taking a nap and Hux had been quietly reading beside him, enjoying the peacefulness.

It was rare that the two were ever off on the same day, and when one of those days did roll around, they took advantage of it to the fullest by doing absolutely nothing at all.

Today had been no exception to that standard.

They hadn't left their quarters once today, spending all their time simply enjoying each other's company. Eating, talking, playing games, watching holofilms--who would have guessed that 'absolutely nothing' could be so intoxicating?

Eventually, in the early afternoon they had gravitated into their bedroom and their huge comfy bed, Kylo to take a nap and Hux to read bits of the novel he had been trying to finish for several weeks, now.

Glancing up, he was startled to see that Kylo had woken up from his nap, and that his eyes were focused on Hux's face.

"Why do you keep staring at me like that?"

"Like what?", Kylo mumbled. He was laying on his side and facing Hux, his head resting on his arm, hair splayed against the pillow. The last of the late afternoon sunlight flooded through the window and highlighted his pale skin, making him glow like some ancient God from legends of the past.

"Like _that_ ", Hux said, looking away. "Stop it; that makes me uncomfortable."

Kylo lifted his head slightly and smiled that crooked smile of his. It changed his face from one that was simply 'handsome' to one that was almost unbearably gorgeous. Staring at him too long was like staring directly into the sun.

"I can't help it," he said in his deep, melodic voice. "My Hux is so horribly sexy."

" _Your_ Hux?"

" **My** Hux ."

He reached out and trailed his long fingers gently up and down Hux's chest, moving from the redhead's soft lips to his naval, a low, contented hum emerging from deep in his throat.

"That tickles," Hux said, shuddering slightly.

Kylo smiled and said, "I'll stop doing it--for a price."

"What's your price?"

"Just one itty bitty kiss." He was moving his fingers around Hux's sides now, teasing his sensitive skin, looping down his legs and towards his thighs.

"If--if I kiss y-you, will you s-stop that?", Hux stuttered out, feeling lightheaded.

"Yes," Kylo replied, his fingers now tracing firm, scrawling loops around the man's inner thighs.

Hux jumped a little at the sensation and quickly bit his lower lip to stifle the moan that wanted to come out. He grabbed the inquisitive hand and gripped it in his own as he pulled Kylo across the bed and into him, into a very brief, almost chaste kiss.

"There. Now stop."

Kylo rolled his eyes and pulled Hux roughly back towards him. This time he put both hands in-between Hux's thighs, rubbing harder than before, while he pressed his lips into Hux's neck.

"Not good enough, General. Not very _convincing_. Surely you can do better than that?", he teased. He lightly grabbed the tip of Hux's stiffening member, as he sank his teeth into the soft spot of Hux's neck just below his jaw. He chuckled at Hux's reaction and climbed on top of him slowly. His hand on Hux became bolder, moving just a bit faster than before.

Hux squirmed, this time unable to help the embarrassingly loud cry that escaped his throat. He tried to hold Kylo off of him as best he could, but he knew it was futile. Eventually his body stopped listening to him, his senses all springing to life at Kylo's touches. Seemingly of their own accord, his legs lifted themselves up and curled around Kylo's waist, locking him into place.

He reached up and twined his hands into Kylo's silky hair, gripping him and pulling his face close. He aggressively began to kiss the man's full red lips, tasting him, devouring the exciting dark sweetness of his mouth.

Kylo broke away long enough to ask, with a smirk,

"Are you sure you want this? I could have sworn you were complaining about being sore earlier tod--"

Hux cut him off with another kiss, while at the same time reaching between them and grabbing the part of Kylo that was already as stiff as a board. Kylo let out a soft, helpless cry of pleasure into Hux's mouth.

"Then don't be so rough on me this time," Hux mumbled, even though he knew the words were as pointless as asking the sun not to rise.

Not that it mattered.

\---

About an hour later found them quietly getting dressed, their thoughts pulling them each in opposite directions.

"Kylo?", said Hux out of a silence, pulling a shirt over his head. Kylo's shirt, from the looks of it. It was big, and comfortable, and smelled delicious.

Kylo saw that Hux wouldn't give up his shirt anytime soon, so he went to the closet to select another one.

"Hmm?"

"Do you love me?"

Kylo let out an exasperated groan and sat down on the bed, shrugging into his pants. 

"No. Not at all. In fact I was waiting for the right time to ask you for a divorce."

Hux reached over and smacked the back of Kylo's head.

"That's not funny, asshole. Remember what I said will happen if you ever try and leave me?"

"Yes. You said you'd shoot me full of holes with your blaster."

"And you realize I'm being 101% serious?"

Now Kylo shifted to face him. "Yes, I know. Do _you_ know that I feel the same towards the idea of you trying to leave me?"

" _Do_ you?"

Kylo held up his left hand so that his wedding ring showed. "The only way this will ever come off my finger is if you cut off my hand. The only way you'd get me out of your life is to kill me. And I don't see either of those things happening anytime soon, so--"

"The hand thing, I wouldn't bet on," Hux said, getting up and walking to the bedroom door. "You **are** a Skywalker, after all."

Kylo started to laugh as he followed along behind his husband, into the kitchen.

"Why are you asking me this?", Kylo said to him, watching as Hux pulled various things out of the conservator to start making dinner.

Hux shrugged. "No reason, really."

"There is, too, a reason; or else you wouldn't have asked."

Hux sat down across from him and began adding together dry ingredients in a bowl. He was going to make honey biscuits to go with the roast he had prepped and ready for the preheating oven, in the conservator. Hux hated honey biscuits, but Kylo really seemed to love them, so he made them 2-3 times a week especially for him.

"I told you, it's nothing," he said, pushing the bowl across the table to Kylo. "Here, stir for me, my arm is tired."

Kylo began to stir, still looking at his husband. "You know, if you don't want to tell me voluntarily, I _could_ just pull it from your mind," he said mildly.

Hux looked at him for a few minutes, then sighed. 

"Okay. There's something I want to talk to you about, something I want to ask you, but I don't know how. And I'm worried about how you're going to take it."

Kylo slowed down his stirring and frowned. "Is it something bad? Maker, you're not sick or something, are you? Or--or dying?" he asked in a trembling tone, his voice breaking on the last word.

He had stopped stirring, and was now shaking all over. Any thought of losing Hux, in any way, no matter how far-fetched, gave him a massive, _painful_ anxiety attack.

There had been an incident, about a month before they were married, when Hux and his men went on a diplomatic mission to several planets in the Ileum system. Hux's ship had stopped sending transmissions back to base after 2 days, and Kylo had been a nervous wreck, thinking that something had happened to him. Snoke had forbidden him to go after Hux, his reasoning being that if something WERE amiss, he couldn't afford to lose both of them at the same time.

It turned out that there had simply been a jammed signal transmitter; but still, Hux didn't return home for another 3 days, and the Kylo he came back to was very different from the one he had left. He forced Kylo into medical bay almost immediately, fearing that the dark knight was on the verge of a total emotional and physical collapse.

Hux thought about this as he saw Kylo's present-day reaction and quickly went over to him, throwing his arms around his shoulders and squeezing tightly. He kissed his forehead and said "No, no, I'm fine. There's nothing wrong with me, I promise; calm down."

Kylo took deep breaths and slowly calmed himself, taking comfort from Hux's arms wrapped solidly around him.

"Don't scare me like that," he said, in a voice he meant to sound angry but instead came out all relief. "Okay, so you're fine, but something is wrong. What is it?"

Hux took a deep breath and, his arms still around Kylo, blurted out "I want kids."

Now a different kind of anxiety hit Kylo, and once again he felt like all the air had gone out of his lungs.

"You--you want what?"

"Kids. I want kids. Well, maybe not kids, plural, right away. A baby first. Then more."

Kylo was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to respond, so unexpected was Hux's revelation. Finally, he regained some of his senses enough to blurt out,

"Do you mean, adopt kids?"

Hux let go of him and sat back down, pulling his chair close to Kylo's.

"I was thinking more along the lines of surrogacy," he said softly, putting his hand on Kylo's arm. "One, or both of us combining our DNA with a surrogate mother, and seeing what comes out of it."

He smiled now, his eyes taking on a far-away dreamy look as he said,

"Imagine a girl. A little girl with your beautiful eyes, maybe your hair, too."

"And where would we get a surrogate mother?", Kylo asked him, rubbing his hand along his jaw. In truth he wasn't really concerned with that; he was asking questions simply for the sake of keeping himself talking, before shock had a chance to take over him completely.

Now Hux looked down nervously. "Would you be angry--if I told you that I already approached Phasma with this idea, a while ago?"

Kylo closed his eyes and counted to ten. Hux had _already asked_ Phasma? And just _how_ long ago had he done so? 

Or how recent?

"And what did she say?", he asked, his eyes still closed.

"She said, should the time ever come, she would be delighted to do this for us. After all, she already has two kids, so she's experienced with this. And I'm sure she could give us a lot of useful parenting tips, as well."

This whole conversation felt like it was spiraling out of control, and fast.

By the time Kylo felt like he could open his eyes, he found that Hux was looking at him quite anxiously.

Hux must have sensed some of what Kylo was thinking, because he explained "I didn't tell her that this was something we wanted to do anytime soon, if at all. I merely asked to see what her reaction would be, to see where that road might take us in the future."

Kylo smiled ruefully at this. As General of The First Order, Hux's mind was always racing lightyears ahead of itself, planning, strategizing, looking far into the future towards every possible outcome for every possible situation. Kylo supposed he really shouldn't be surprised, that Hux had already spoken to Phasma. He was nothing if not thorough.

"And if I said no?", Kylo asked him quietly. "If I flat-out said no, in all seriousness, would you want to leave me _then_?"

In all honesty, Kylo had never even breached the subject of children before in his own mind. He didn't know if he was opposed to the idea or not.

 **Hux** would be a great father, he had no doubt. But Kylo wasn't so sure about himself. The familial relationships in his own bloodline were convoluted and strange, at best, so he really had nothing to go off of, as a future indicator of his possible parenting accolades. And Hux hadn't seen or spoken to his own father in many years. The man was supposed to come to their wedding but 'something came up' at the last possible second, and Hux, while he put on a brave face, had clearly been torn up inside over the betrayal. 

How could these two expect to be successful parents in their own right?

Hux sighed and looked down at the table. The timer on the oven preheat went off, and he got up to take the roast out of the conservator to slide in the oven. He set the timer again before he sat back down.

"No," he said after a while. "No matter what you did, I couldn't walk away from us," he told him. He reached over and grabbed Kylo's hand from where it lay on the table, pressing his fingers against his lips. "I told you once, I could never let you go."

Kylo smiled and got up to hug Hux to him warmly. 

"I love you," he said, kissing his cheek. "Also, I would **never** just give you a flat-out 'no' about anything, including this. It's just, this is a really big decision, and I'd have to truly think how I felt about it, before telling you what I'd want, or not want. Just, just give me some time to think. Okay?"

Hux nodded, pressing their foreheads together. "Okay. I can agree with that. Time."

He moved away and picked up the bowl from Kylo's elbow, beginning to stir the biscuit batter again.

Time.

\---

"I wonder if I might ask you both a favor?", Phasma asked nervously, looking down at her hands.

It was several days later, and Kylo and Hux were visiting the quarters of Captain Phasma and her husband, Lieutenant Dolph Mitaka. Mitaka was gone on a two-week long mission, so it was just Phasma at home with her youngest child, her 2 year old daughter, Dahlia.

"What is it?", asked Kylo curiously. He genuinely liked Phasma, and, aside from Hux, considered her to be one of his best friends in The First Order. In fact, she was the one who gave him the needed support and encouragement, to propose to Hux in the first place.

"Well, as you know, Dolph is away on a mission for a while. I just received a Comm from Snoke earlier that he wants to send me with the troops on a mining expedition to Agamar. With both of us going to be gone, there would be nobody to be with Dahlia, in the evenings. Now I could just leave her in the 24 hour Officer's child care facilities, but I don't like doing that. I was wondering--is there any way the two of you could take her?"

Kylo and Hux looked at each other.

"It would just be for about three days," Phasma said anxiously. "And it would only be for Dahlia. Little Dolph is visiting Dolph's mother this week. Dahlia goes to the Daycare during the day, so it'd only be at night, when you're off, that you'd have her."

Before Kylo could answer yea or nay, Hux spoke up for the both of them.

"Of course we can do it. It wouldn't be any problem at all."

Kylo looked at him somewhat sharply, but Hux didn't even notice. His eyes were alit with an excitement Kylo hadn't seen in a long while, and he looked so happy that Kylo didn't have the heart to burst his bubble

"Oh, thank you so much!", Phasma was saying, hugging both of them. She took Hux's arm and pulled him into the kitchen. "Come on, I'll write out a list of basic instructions for you, and you can ask me about any questions you might have."

Hux nodded seriously and followed her in, his mental facilities all gearing up for this challenge.

Kylo stood still in the living room, numbly, wondering what in the hells had just happened. 

He walked over to the playpen in the corner of the room and looked warily inside. Dahlia was sound asleep, laying on her side with a little flowered blanket over her tiny body. 

_Maybe it won't be so bad,_ Kylo thought to himself as he watched the sleeping girl, _If she's just sleepy and calm like that._

"Kylo! Come in here," Hux called out to him from the kitchen. "You need to hear all this, too."

So Kylo left the crib and went to  
join the two in the kitchen.

\---

Kylo walked down the east wing towards the daycare sector of the base, his heart thumping nervously in his chest.

Phasma had left on her mission early this morning, after having dropped off what seemed like a mountain of things for her daughter to their quarters. 

Clothes, toys, playpen, blankets, books--Kylo had to silently wonder whether the kid was staying for 3 days or 3 _years_. 

Since Kylo would be free from his duties a full hour before Hux, it was decided that he would be the one to pick the girl up from daycare and bring her home.

He walked into the facility and noticed the way the guardians all stopped what they were doing and stared at him. It wasn't surprising; he had never been to this area of the base before, and, while none of these people had met him personally, they of course knew who he was. Kylo detected an air of mild fear and unease spreading from one person to the other.

He ignored this and walked up to the lady behind the front desk, explaining to her the situation and giving her the clearance code that Phasma set up with the lady beforehand, so she would know the right person was coming to pick up the girl.

A few minutes later one of the aides brought out a small, timid girl from the gaggle of children behind them. Like Phasma, she had white-blonde hair and brown eyes. She was taking the slow, measures steps of somebody just learning how to walk, and she looked up at Kylo curiously when they reached him.

Putting on a smile he hoped was natural, he squatted on his ankles until he was eye-level with the girl.

"Hi, Dahlia. I'm Kylo, I'm your mommy's friend. You're coming home with me, until your mommy gets back from her trip. Okay?"

He held out his hand.

The girl looked at him, then at the aide, who nodded, giving her a gentle push forward. The girl cautiously took Kylo's hand, and the two started down the hallways.

"So, Dahlia, what do you like to eat?", he asked as they walked along. He felt stupid talking like that, considering Phasma had told them Dahlia didn't speak much, yet, but silence made him uncomfortable. "I think we have some snacks back home. Cookies, for sure. That is until Hux gets home and makes dinner. You'll like Hux, he can cook good."

"Cookies?", she asked in a tiny voice, looking up at him.

Kylo smiled. "Cookies."

They got to his quarters and Kylo let them in, flipping on all the lights. Dahlia looked around herself apprehensively, her eyes taking in the scenery of the unfamiliar place. She seemed to relax some when she spotted her own toys in a corner of the living room, and ran over excitedly.

"Play toys?", she asked, waving around a stuffed Ewok.

So Kylo came and sat on the floor with her (after grabbing a handful of cookies on a plate) and played. Most of what she said didn't really make any sense, but she seemed delighted that Kylo was sitting with her. Her delight turned to clapping glee as Kylo used the Force to levitate some of her toys in the air, keeping them dancing around them as they snarfed cookies and played.

"'Lo?", called a voice from the front door. "I'm home; where are you?"

"We're in here," Kylo called, turning his head.

Hux walked slowly into the room, and smiled at all the toys floating around the room.

"I see you and her have made friends?"

Kylo shrugged. "She wanted to play, so I'm playing."

"I see," Hux said, coming closer. He dropped a kiss on Kylo's forehead. "Did she also tell you she wanted to eat enough cookies to leave big chocolate smears all over her mouth?"

Kylo looked at her and chuckled. He hadn't even noticed the chocolate stains.

He got off the floor and went into the kitchen to get a wet cloth to wipe her face, telling her to sit still while he gently wiped crumbs from her mouth.

When he was finished, Hux started to laugh. "Maker, have you seen _your_ face? You're a sloppier eater than her!"

Kylo moved to wipe down his own mouth, when Hux put his hand over his, stopping him.

"Let me," he said, and began to kiss away the sweetness from Kylo's lips. Kylo grinned and reluctantly pulled away.

"Maybe we shouldn't do that in front of her," he said, taking the still-damp cloth from the table and wiping the rest of his mouth.

"You may be right. But if we have our own kids, all bets will be off. They're going to think they have the grossest dads on the planet."

Kylo started to laugh, then he crinkled up his nose in surprise.

"Speaking of gross--", he said, sniffing the air with his sensitive nose, "What in the world is that _smell_?!"

Both of them looked at Dahlia, who was still playing with her toys and watching them both with a deceptive sweetness.

Hux got up and went over to her bag hanging on couch, and fished around in it until he came up with a diaper and some powder.

"I don't suppose YOU want to--"

"And take away all the fun from you? Never," Kylo answered, backing away. "I'll, uh, I'll go start dinner."

"Fine," Hux muttered, gearing himself up to face his most challenging task of the day.

\---

Dinner went smoothly, with Dahlia eating almost everything they put in front of her, after they had cut it into small pieces. She seemed a bit tired, so after she was done eating, Hux picked her up and changed her into her pajamas, laying her down in the collapsible bed that Phasma had set up in the corner of their living room.

The girl was out like a light almost as soon as her head hit the pillow, and Hux and Kylo took that as a cue to retire to their room as well, leaving the door open so that they could hear her.

Kylo laid down and curled into a ball, facing Hux, who was typing notes for his upcoming meetings into his DataPad.

"Hux, in all seriousness, this is getting to be a problem."

"What?!"

"I'm tired. I am SO tired right now, all I want is to go to sleep."

"Okay--?", Hux asked in confusion, tilting his head. "What's stopping you?"

Kylo pouted, his face a mask of mock sternness as he said "You are."

Hux sat up fully, staring at him. 

"How am I -- oh, do you mean _this_?", he asked, holding up his DataPad. "Is the light too bright for you? I can adjust the settings so that --"

"That's not what I meant, Armitage," he said, that look still on his face. "Just answer me this: **Why?** "

"Why, what?"

With an exaggerated huff, Kylo said "I'm tired as can be, ready to pass out, and YOU sit over there looking as attractive as possible, and now I won't be able to rest until I've kissed you all over. So mean. So unfair. WHY do you torture me so much?"

Hux blushed a deep, searing red and set down his Pad on the nightstand.

"What if I don't want you to kiss me all over? What if _I_ want to kiss _you_ , instead?"

"Be my guest," Kylo said with a smirk, laying down flat and motionless on his side of the bed.

Hux crawled across to him and climbed on top of him. He began to kiss around Kylo's neck and chest, moving achingly slow, teasing him. He knew by the way Kylo was squirming that he was turned on., and he took advantage of his lover's helplessness to begin sliding his hand down his stomach and towards his thighs.

At that moment, a strange sound made them both look up. Thinking that it was their imaginations, Hux leaned back down and resumed his kissing--and this time the sound was much louder, unable to be passed off as 'imagination'.

"I think Dahlia is crying," Kylo said from beneath him, struggling to sit up slightly. 

Hux nodded, then leaned back down to kiss him once more time.

"I'll go get her. You stay here, since you're so _tired_ , after all," Hux said with a grin, before climbing off of him.

"Alright. But we're finishing this when you come back," Kylo told him, curling up into a ball on his side and reaching for his own DataPad.

Hux went into the living room, soothing the crying girl and talking softly to her until she fell back asleep.

He came back in the bedroom, and wasn't very surprised to find that Kylo had fallen asleep in his absense. His DataPad was still open and laying on top of his face.

Hux straightened up and tucked Kylo in, staring at him a long time before he climbed into bed with him.

Sometimes the love he felt for the man across from him was so overwhelming that Hux was afraid it would crush him. His entire life before Kylo seemed utterly unimportant, and he wouldn't be interested in a future without him in it.

An interesting circle, going from despising someone so much that it made your chest hurt to even hear their name, to being unable to breathe at the thought of losing them.

This was part of the reason why he wanted so badly to start a family with him; such an abundance of love felt squandered on just the two of them.

Although Kylo hadn't told him this, Hux felt he knew the real reason why Kylo was hesitant about having kids. He knew that Kylo was internally exploring his failed relationship with his own father, as well as its violent end.

And, if truth be told, that concept scared Hux a bit, as well.

The calm, peaceful man he came home to every night was not the same man that walked the hallways of the base, or strode around the Finalizer.

 **That** man was different.

 **That** man was a seasoned, ruthless killer who was willing to do whatever necessary in the name of Snoke, and The First Order.

It also worried Hux, the idea that any biological children of Kylo's would undoubtedly have the Force sensitivity that both favored and cursed their father.

How would they handle it if, say, they had a son who decided that the Dark Side didn't agree with him, and decided to run away and join the Resistance, the way Kylo had run from his family?

Or, Maker forbid, decide to kill Kylo, the way Kylo had killed his own father?

Kylo had told him that he felt that his mother forgave him, for what he did to his father, and Hux had agreed, mostly to help soothe Kylo's clearly guilty conscience. But inside, he had had his doubts. How could ANY parent forgive such a series of grievous (and fatal) transgressions of their progeny like that? Was parental love truly that strong?

Did Hux have it IN him, to be that strong?

Yet, looking at Kylo's sleeping face, the desire for a child of their own overpowered every negative scenario he could conjure up.

 _Maybe he'll still come around to the idea,_ Hux thought to himself, as he drifted to sleep.

_Maybe._

\---

When they woke up in the morning, both of them knew immediately that something was wrong with the girl. She was very quiet, and somewhat peckish when they tried to pick her up. She barely touched her breakfast, and when Hux put his hand on her forehead, he thought it felt a bit too warm.

"I think she's sick," he said, picking her up and cradling her gently. "I'm going to take her to Med Bay and get her checked out, just to be safe."

Kylo looked at the clock, and frowned. "If you do that, you'll never make it to your meeting in time," he said, and held out his arms. "Let me take her. The only thing I have this morning is overseeing the Cadet exercises; I can send a Comm for one of the Captains to go in my place."

"Are you sure?" Hux asked him doubtfully.

"I'm sure," he replied, lifting the girl out of Hux's arms and into his own. "Help me and put my helmet on, please?"

Hux grabbed Kylo's helmet from its stand by the door, and pulled it carefully over his face. He would have thought the girl would have been scared at the menacing-looking piece of steel, but she barely reacted at all, just tightening her arms around Kylo's neck.

The again, she was probably used to the sight of Phasma in her helmet.

Kylo kissed Hux goodbye and headed in the opposite direction down the hallway, towards Med Bay. 

When he got there, he signaled one of the MedBot's to come over, as he laid the girl down on a cot.

The Bot performed a vitals check, as well as a small series of tests in her, as Kylo sat patiently and waited. Finally, it came over to him  
and said

"Human, Age Approximately 2.32 years, Caucasian Female, Vitals healthy, slight deviation in normal internal temperature. Diagnosis: Hyperacidity. Treatment Recommended: moderate fluid intake, and 1 tablespoon anti-acid, 2.5 ML, every four hours."

"What?", Kylo asked, confused.

"He means she has a stomach ache and you should give her some juice, and _this_ every 4 hours and she'll feel better," said a human aide that came up behind him, holding out a bottle of medicine for him.

"Oh. Thank you," Kylo said, placing her medicine in his pocket and picking up the girl.

As he carried her back down the hallways towards his quarters, Kylo said, "I guess we DID have way too many cookies yesterday, didn't we?"

The girl nodded, and laid her head on his shoulder.

"Mommy home?", she asked in her tiny voice.

"No, your mommy's not home yet. But don't worry, she'll be back tomorrow night."

He got to the doors of the quarters and punched in the access code, letting them in.

"Your mom left us some holos for you to watch. There's this Terran holo that she said you love. It's called, um, Season Street?"

"Sesame Street!", the girl corrected him, somewhat excitedly. 

Kylo grinned. "Okay, I'll put it on and we'll watch it, but first you have to take your medicine."

He mixed up the child's medicine with some juice and gave it to her, watching to make sure she swallowed the entire thing. Then he turned on the Terran holo, the fabled Sesame Street, and watched it with her.

It was entirely bizarre.

He knew that Terranians were behind their technology by at least a few millennia, but he never suspected that the people were also plagued with insanity, as well.

The creatures on the screen were mostly unidentifiable to Kylo, made up crudely of cloth and strings and eyes. They sang songs that made no sense, and spoke of things that held no context for him.

And everybody seemed entirely too happy.

Dahlia seemed enthralled by it, though, not taking her eyes from the projector the whole time they watched.

Eventually the girl got tired and drifted off to sleep, leaning against Kylo. He didn't want to move and wake her so he stayed where he was, continuing to watch the melee on a screen.

He was surprised when he heard the access pad to the front door being punched, and turned his head to see Hux step inside.

Before Hux could speak, Kylo immediately put his finger to his lips, to indicate that he should be quiet. Hux nodded and tiptoed over to them, and sat down cross-legged on the floor next to Kylo and the sleeping child in his lap.

"What are you doing home so early?", Kylo whispered.

"I was worried, so I took the rest of the day off," Hux whispered back, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "But I see you've got things well in hand."

Kylo nodded, then quietly told Hux of all he and Dahlia had done, ending with the odd show he was still watching.

Hux looked at the projector screen and tilted his head. "What in the world ARE those things?", he asked, confused.

"I'm still trying to figure that out."

Hux chuckled softly and leaned against him, his head on Kylo's shoulder as he watched along with him.

After some time, Kylo noticed a lag in conversation. He looked down and saw that Hux had fallen asleep against him, snoring against his arm. Dahlia was still sleeping in his lap.

He looked from Hux, to Dahlia, then back to Hux again.

And he smiled.

\---

The next night, when the knock came on the door, Kylo jumped up to answer it.

"Phasma!", he said, giving the woman a warm hug. "How was your mission?"

"Ugh, exhausting!", she said, and he led her over to the couch as she told him anecdotes of her past few days.

When she finished, she stretched and said "I assume my baby is sleeping? It's so quiet."

"Well, about that. She was so much trouble that we decided to sell her to a caravan of passing pirates. I hope you don't mind; but she sold for a pretty hefty price. Your cut should be worthwhile."

Phasma rolled her eyes and hit him on the shoulder.

"Okay, fine, she's asleep in our bed. She wandered in there earlier and climbed up, said "ooh, fluffy!", and went to sleep. She's quite the go-getter."

Phasma laughed and shook her head. "Yes, she is. Where's Hux?"

At that moment Hux came out of the refresher, wrapped in his robe with a towel around his shoulders.

"Oh! Phas!", he said, surprised. "You're early; I didn't think you'd be back til much, much later."

"We made good time traveling," she said. 

"So how did it go?"

"Good, good. I'll have the detailed report for you first thing in the morning."

Now she looked at the two of them  
and spoke softly. 

"I can't thank you both enough, for doing this for me. It means a lot, to know I have friends I can count on when I need them."

"Of course," Hux said, nodding, an was about to say something more when Kylo spoke first, looking at Phasma intently.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yes?"

"Well, since all three of us are in the same room, I thought now might be a good time: is it true Hux asked you about possibly being a surrogate for us?"

Phasma nodded solemnly. "He did. I told him, should the time ever come when you're both ready, I'd be happy to do it. I'd be honored to be a part of such a special event in your lives."

"And what about Dolph? What does he say?"

"The day that Hux came to me, we had a long talk about it. He said as long as I was healthy, and the procedure was safe, he wouldn't have a problem with it."

Kylo took a deep breath, and grabbed hold of Hux's hand, giving it a subtle squeeze.

"What if I asked you, if you were ready to begin the process within the coming year?"

"Really?!", Hux and Phasma exclaimed at the same time.

"Really. I think-- I _believe_ I'm ready to step into that next chapter in our lives."

Hux had started to tear up, still holding on to Kylo's hand. Phasma was beaming next to him.

"I think that's wonderful," she said. "Of course, I don't know much about this so Hux, you'll have to educate me on the process, but once we get all the details worked out, I'll be ready."

At that moment, a sound from the bedroom made them all turn their heads.

The door creaked open, and Dahlia came toddling out, a huge smile on her face when she saw her mother.

"Mommy! Mommy!!", she shrieked, running into Phasma's arms.

"Dolly! There's my big girl! Oh I missed you!", she said, covering her daughter in kisses.

The three adults began to pack up Dahlia's things, then, after Hux quickly got dressed, they all made the trek down the halls to Phasma's quarters to drop everything off.

Once they had unloaded everything, Phasma set Dahlia down on the floor in front of Kylo and Hux.

"Say thank you to them, sweetie, for taking such good care of you."

Dahlia went from one to the other, hugging their legs and cooing in her tiny little voice.

"Bye! Bye bye!, she said, as she and Phasma waved them down the  
hallway.

Once they got a distance away, Hux grabbed Kylo's hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You're sure you're ready for this?"

Kylo smiled, stopping to kiss Hux's cheek. 

"With you, I'm ready for _anything_. And besides, I've already thought of the perfect name, if we have a boy."

"Yeah?", Hux said, as they reached the doors of their quarters. "What's that?"

With a sneaky grin, Kylo said, proudly, "Anakin."

Hux shook his head, pulling Kylo to the couch with him. 

"No offense, but I'd rather leave your grandfather out of this."

"Fine. Then how about, Armitage Jr.?"

"Ugh! No! For that matter, how about Ben Jr.?"

Kylo scowled and flicked Hux's ear. "That's even worse!" Then he paused. "What about -- what about Solo? As a first name? Solo Ren-Hux?"

Hux smiled. "I like that, actually. But what about if it's a girl?"

"Jalena."

"After my mother?" Hux asked, softly. "I love that."

"I love YOU," Kylo said, leaning into him and kissing his neck. "You know, I heard that the sex life for some parents slows down considerably once a baby arrives. We should make the most of this time right now, shouldn't we?"

Hux laughed. "Phasma's not even pregnant yet, you idiot. We have at LEAST another year before we start worrying over that."

"Over a year? THAT soon? Quick, we've got no time to lose!", Kylo exclaimed, pulling Hux's shirt over his head.

Hux sighed, and leaned in to kiss his husband's lips.

The man made a convincing argument.


End file.
